Total Eclipse

The Twilight nasty thing is not something one should be proud of liking… Hell, watching. As an utter snob, I have never seen one of the Twilight films. Ok, I once saw five minutes of the first film, and that was that. I would never pay money to see such a disgrace to the word ‘film’. However, like many others who completely dislike Twilight, I eagerly await the List of the bands that will record songs for the films. I await the songs to be previewed. And I await for the whole ‘too good for this’ comments. Because, let’s face it, the songs are too good for this.

Each time, the soundtrack is borderline pitch perfect. Each song has a spark of its own. Even Paramore were good. Full Moon’s soundtrack was beyond delicious. And, somehow, it seems crazy to think anything better would come along. BRMC, Editors, Muse, Grizzly Bear. Too many great names. So, one question was on everybody’s lips. Who would bring their contribution to the soundtrack this time?

The Eclipse List seemed almost just as finger licking. Unsurprisingly, most bands deliver just right. Muse are majestic as always, albeit cheesy beyond words and, apparently, out-of-synch with Twilight (but who cares, we’re here for the music, not the shabby franchise). The Black Keys create a tune that might as well be on their latest album while Black Angels take over UNKLE’s world in one surreal track. Band Of Horse’s Life On Earth could be a bit repetitive but it has the right amount of dreamy too make it a mind-blowing piece. Cee Lo Green’s voice is a wonderful treat and the moodier Rolling In A Burning Tree from super group The Dead Weather throws its melodrama into ones heart (and refuses to leave). Farfarlo’s Atlas is nothing short of a bitter-sweet bungle of jangling folk guitars while Eastern Conference Champions use reverbs too the max in order to create the most rocky song of the album and a definite festival anthem.

There are, on the other hand, the unavoidable hit and misses. Metric fail to do anything but a deeply forgettable song, and The Bravery are as mediocre as ever. Vampire Weekend’s effort only confirms their status as an over hyped band, while Florence earns the right to be called Florence and the PR Machine. And then there is Sia who, by all means, should quit music and go become a nun. Worthless waste of space.

People in charge of the soundtrack claim there is no effort put into bringing together these names, and it is only the tastes of those involved in the project that dictates the List. However, one cannot help but wonder if this, the too-cool names, isn’t but a marketing attempt to draw in even larger crowds. And still, it seems to be a failed marketing attempt and the ‘too cool for Twilight’ talk over the Internet partially proved it. But it’s not a failure if you consider the creative efforts involved (while not amounting to the same results for each band). Once more, the franchise puts out a collection of (mostly) great songs that will be played for a long time.